The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds Christians that they are surrounded by a great “cloud of witnesses.” (NRSV) That “cloud” has continued to grow in size since then. In this monthly column we will be thinking about some of the people and events, over the past 2000 years, that have helped make up this “cloud.” People and events that have helped build the community of the Christian Church as it exists today.
The history of the Christian Church in mainland China since 1949 is a story characterised by times of dramatic upheaval, near destruction and martyrdom, and unexpected revival. Over this time, Christianity in China has developed from a small but institutionally significant and prominent minority, through becoming a persecuted and almost invisible faith during early revolutionary Communism under Mao, and finally to being one of the fastest-growing - yet officially tightly controlled - religious movements in the 21st-century world.
This extraordinary trajectory reflects not only changing faith dynamics but also the shifting priorities of the Chinese Communist state. The latter covers periods of ruthless pursuit of ideological purity, pragmatic and reformist governance and, most recently, re-energised efforts at ideological control and surveillance.
The Chinese Christian Church in 1949
On the eve of Communist victory, in 1949, Christianity in China was modest in size but significant in its influence. At that time – out of a population of approximately 540 million – there were about four to five million Chinese Christians. The majority of these were Roman Catholics, who numbered about 2.5 to three million, with Protestants making up a smaller (but growing community) of roughly 700,000 to one million believers.
Christians at that time constituted less than 1% of the population of China, yet their presence was felt disproportionately through institutions (including schools and hospitals) that they had built over decades of missionary activity since the 19th century. Chinese Christians were concentrated in urban centres, coastal provinces, and among educated elites, with lower numbers of rural converts.
Catholic missions in China operated under the authority of Rome, while Protestant churches were often linked to related denominations in Europe and the United States. Missionaries from abroad had established schools, universities, hospitals, and charitable organizations across China. These institutions contributed to education, public health, and social welfare, and in this they gave Christianity a visible and often respected role in Chinese society.
Civil war and Communist victory
What is clear is that Christianity in China before 1949 was shaped by a history of foreign involvement and this became an increasingly sensitive (and problematic) matter after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) won the second phase of a civil war – fought against the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China (the KMT) – that raged in China from 1945 to 1950.
What is sometimes termed the ‘first phase civil war’ had earlier been fought from 1927 to 1937. However, between 1937 and 1945, hostilities between the KMT and CCP were mostly put on hold as both fought the Japanese invasion of China. Consequently, for China the Second World War started in 1937. Japan had launched a localized invasion of Manchuria (northeast China) in 1931, with full-scale war starting in 1937. However, armed clashes between the KMT and CCP remained common during this ‘Second United Front’ period, as both groups fought the Japanese.
In 1945 – following almost a decade of appalling suffering at the hands of the Japanese military (with huge numbers of civilian casualties) and the eventual defeat of Japan by the Allies – full scale civil war broke out once more in China between the KMT and the CCP. This civil war was won by the CCP.
Chinese Christians under pressure
The foreign connections of the Chinese Christian community made Christianity politically vulnerable. In the context of rising nationalism in the early 20th century, many Chinese had come to view the faith as entangled with Western imperialism. Even as indigenous Christian leadership grew, the perception of Christianity as a ‘foreign religion’ opened it to attack by Chinese nationalists. These often associated it with the so-called ‘century of humiliation’ – a Chinese description of a painful period in history when China experienced massive (and often violent) humiliation at the hands of foreign imperial powers. This started with the First Opium War (1839–1842), and ending in 1945 with China emerging out of the Second World War. This ‘century of humiliation’ continues to influence Chinese attitudes towards Western nations in the 21st century.
The Communist victory in 1949, under Mao Zedong (also known as Chairman Mao), marked a decisive break with the Chinese past but an acceleration of existing pressure on the Christian community. The new government was officially atheist and viewed religion through a Marxist lens. This classed all religion as a remnant of feudalism and (in the case of Christianity) a potential tool of foreign influence. As the Cold War started, pressure mounted. Yet the early years of Communist rule did not immediately lead to efforts to abolish Christianity. Instead, the state moved to bring it under strict control.
During the 1950s, foreign missionaries were expelled, cutting off Chinese churches from their international connections. At the same time, the government established state-sanctioned religious organizations which were designed to reshape Christianity into a form compatible with socialist principles (i.e. under the control of the CCP). For Protestants, this took the form of the ‘Three-Self Patriotic Movement,’ which emphasized self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation. This basically meant independence from foreign control and influence. For Catholics, the ‘Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association’ was created to sever ties with the Vatican and place the Church under national Communist authority.
These measures fundamentally changed the structure of Christianity in China. Churches were required to register with the state, clergy were expected to demonstrate political loyalty (as defined by the CCP), and religious teaching was subject to oversight by the Communist Party. Those who refused to comply often faced harassment, imprisonment, or forced ‘re-education.’ While some Christians adapted to the new Communist system, others chose to continue practicing their faith outside official structures, laying the groundwork for what would later become known as the ‘Chinese house-church’ movement.
Pressure turns to outright persecution
Things got worse. The most severe period of repression came during the ‘Cultural Revolution,’ which was launched by Mao in 1966. This upheaval lasted a decade and sought to eradicate what were called the ‘Four Olds”: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. In this period, religion was a primary target.
During these years, all forms of religious practice were effectively banned in China. Churches were closed, destroyed, or converted to secular use. Bibles and religious materials were confiscated or burned. Clergy and believers were persecuted, often publicly humiliated, sent to labour camps, or killed. Mobs of heavily indoctrinated young ‘Red Guards’ (inspired by Mao’s ideas, as published in his ‘Little Red Book’) led the way in this period of ruthless purging, which (overall) led to an estimated 500,000 to 2 million deaths across China. These deaths came on top of an estimated thirty million people who had earlier died of starvation in China during the so-called ‘Great Leap Forward’ (1960–1962), which had aimed to rapidly modernise Chinese agriculture and industry. Together with the Cultural Revolution, these policies caused immense suffering to millions in China.
By the early 1970s, Christianity in China had been driven almost entirely underground. Its institutional structures had collapsed, and public expressions of Christian faith had disappeared. Yet Christianity did not vanish. Despite brutal persecution, small groups of believers continued to meet in secret, passing on their faith quietly and informally. This hidden resilience – forged in the fire of persecution – would prove crucial in the years to come.
Partial relaxation and an explosion of growth
The death of Mao in 1976 and the subsequent rise of reform-oriented leadership marked another turning point in the experience of the Chinese Christian community. Under this new direction, associated with Deng Xiaoping (paramount leader of China from 1978 to 1989), the Chinese government began to shift its priorities from ideological campaigns to economic development and social stability. As part of this broader transformation, religious policy was relaxed somewhat.
Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the early 1980s, the government restored a limited degree of religious freedom. Under this, churches were allowed to reopen, religious services resumed, and official religious organizations were revived. The Chinese constitution formally guaranteed “freedom of religious belief,” although in practice this freedom was carefully circumscribed. Only state-approved religious activities were permitted, and all religious groups were expected to operate under government supervision.
Despite these constraints, Christianity experienced remarkable growth in the decades that followed. From perhaps a few million adherents in the late 1970s, the number of Christians rose rapidly through the 1980s and 1990s. Official estimates suggest that there were around six million Chinese Christians in the early 1980s; there were fourteen million in registered churches by 1997; and the community totalled a much larger number if unregistered churches (with numbers hard to accurately estimate) are included. By 2018, official Chinese government sources counted about forty-four million Christian believers; and unofficial estimates were often much higher than this (perhaps tens of millions more).
A key driver of this massive expansion was the rise of ‘house-churches.’ These were informal, unregistered congregations that met in private homes or in rented spaces. They operated outside the state-sanctioned system and were especially prominent among evangelical Protestants. These groups spread quickly, particularly in rural areas but increasingly in Chinese cities as well. Their decentralized structure made them very difficult for the CCP to control, and the house-church emphasis on personal faith and building a caring community proved very appealing in a society undergoing rapid change and uncertainty.
Decades of upheaval had left many Chinese looking for meaning and stability; the apparent ‘certainties’ of Maoist Communism had been shaken by change; economic reforms were transforming daily life, bringing new uncertainties. In such a society, Christianity offered both spiritual answers and, also, a sense of community and a moral framework.
Chinese Christianity in the 21st century
By the year 2000, Christianity in China had become a very diverse and dynamic community. However, its relationship with the Communist state remains complex and often tense. Today, there are state-approved Protestant and Catholic churches, which operate openly but under close state supervision. In addition, there are also the aforementioned house-churches, which range from small gatherings to large networks with thousands of members. In the Catholic community, a long-standing division continues between those who align with the Vatican and those who belong to the state-sanctioned Church. Christians today make up between 2% and 5% of the Chinese population (an exact percentage is hard to gauge), but this still represents tens of millions of people. Some estimates place the number much higher.
Since the rise of Xi Jinping (General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012, and President of China since 2013) the Chinese government has taken a more assertive approach towards religion. While the Chinese constitution continues to guarantee freedom of belief, new regulations and enforcement measures have sought to tighten control over religion in practice. The CCP promotes the ‘Sinicization’ of religion. This aims to make religious beliefs and practices align with Chinese culture (as defined by the CCP) and socialist values (as defined by the CCP).
This has meant increased pressure on religious groups to register with the state and operate within official frameworks. Unregistered house-churches have faced closures, fines, and arrests of their leaders. Church buildings have been demolished, crosses removed, and religious activities subjected to greater state surveillance. Online religious content has also come under stricter regulation in a surveillance state. Religion is permitted, but only insofar as it remains subordinate to state authority. Religious organizations, independent of the CCP, are viewed with great suspicion.
In Hong Kong – although religious freedom is one of the fundamental rights officially protected by the ‘Basic Law’ (operative since 1997) – Christian freedom is currently undergoing a systematic decline. This chilling effect on the Christian community is part of a shifting from a free environment to one defined by ‘soft repression’ and self-censorship to avoid prosecution under the National Security Law (2020). While public worship remains a legal right, clergy and Church members face increasing risks for pro-democracy stances, with major figures imprisoned and churches increasingly targeted. This is part of a general crackdown on dissent and ideas that the CCP feels threatens its rule.
Recent polling (though hard to verify) suggests that the earlier period of explosive expansion of the Chinese Christian community after 1976 may have given way to a more gradual and uneven pattern of growth. Despite this, China may soon have one of the largest Christian populations in the world. Time will tell.
Summing up something of the Chinese Christian experience since 1949
The history of Christianity in China since 1949 reveals both the power of the modern state and the resilience of religious belief. In this time, the Church has been reshaped, constrained, and at times nearly destroyed, but it has also adapted, survived, and, in certain periods, flourished.
Whether the number of Chinese Christians grows dramatically again, or stabilizes at current levels, the Christian presence remains a significant and enduring feature of the Chinese religious and cultural landscape. Chairman Mao and the Red Guards had certainly not anticipated that! The Little Red Book proved less resilient than the Bible.
Martyn Whittock is an historian and a Licensed Lay Minister in the Church of England. The author, or co-author, of fifty-eight books, his work covers a wide range of historical and theological themes. In addition, as a commentator and columnist, he has written for several print and online news platforms and been interviewed on TV and radio news and discussion programmes exploring the interaction of faith and politics. His recent books include Trump and the Puritans (2020), American Vikings (2023) and Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin, the Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (2025).
